by Dwayne Phillips Plans are significant things. We produce them with significant effort. Otherwise, we are merely chatting about our hopes, dreams, and wishes. Person A: We have a plan for that. Person B: Great. May I see it? Person A: What do you mean? Person B: Your plan. May I see it? May I […]
Entries Tagged as 'Planning'
Hopes, Dreams, Wishes, and Plans
April 2nd, 2020 · No Comments
Tags: Communication · Conversation · Planning
Lack of Planning, Emergencies, and All Such Things
April 8th, 2019 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Nothing new here. Lack of planning still brings emergency responses and all sort of bad reactions. I suppose we have to be reminded of this from time to time. There are various ways to say it like: Lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part or […]
Tags: Commitment · Decide · Emergency · Planning
Plan for Success
April 26th, 2018 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Sometimes success catches us by surprise. Too bad as we miss an opportunity. Success may not come, but be ready if it does. Years ago, I went to a conference and spoke. Some persons approached me and asked for more information and contacts and cards and seminars. Wow. What a success. I, […]
Too Close to Think
September 28th, 2017 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Someone on the team needs to be a little farther away from the problem than the rest of us. Once upon a time…a team of engineers and such had a major design review in Florida. The team didn’t live in Florida. The head of the team, thoroughly enmeshed in the details of […]
Tags: General Systems Thinking · Management · Planning · Thinking
The Plan versus the Idea
June 1st, 2017 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Often “plans” are merely “ideas.” Ideas suffice if they are small enough. We have a lot of plans where I work and recreate. The trouble is, I can’t ever seem to find them. No one can produce an artifact that records the plan. Truth is, the plan is in the mind of […]
Tags: Analysis · Clarity · Communication · Ideas · Planning
But I Had a Great Time
May 29th, 2014 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Once again I delve into the question, but what was the objective? I find myself planning events more than previously. At least I find myself involved in planning events. And, as I have written before, I tend to ask some variation of, “What is the objective?” I have been involved with many […]
Plan Your Work, Work Your Plan, Plus
October 3rd, 2013 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips In addition to the planner’s basics, talk directly to the right people in a frank manner. Years ago, I worked with a company VP who had success on the vast majority of his projects. His “secret” was: Plan your work (in detail) Work your plan (track progress in detail) Okay, big deal. […]
Tags: Communication · Management · People · Planning
Let’s Simplify: Writing a Plan
April 25th, 2013 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Let’s return to basics and discuss the aspects of a plan. I love it when a plan comes together – that guy on the A-Team TV show This is one of those blog posts that I am embarrassed to write. Surely everyone already knows this one, right? Wrong. I wish I had […]
Resource Leveling
October 8th, 2012 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Resource leveling is an obscure term in project management. It is, however, paramount to project success. You are planning a project or planning some work that involves a limited number of people. You lay out all the tasks that must be performed and record all the resources needed to perform each task. […]
Tags: Estimation · Management · Planning
Planning: Working Backwards
September 3rd, 2012 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips One planning technique that has worked for me is to start at the end and work my way backwards. I am a planner. There, got that out of the way. I have practiced planning for years and after all that I am pretty good at it. Recent discussions on the topic of […]
Tags: Planning